• 03/25/2007

    Czech police arrested more than 20 people on Saturday evening following violent clashes between hundreds of Czech and German football fans ahead of a Euro 2008 qualifying match between the two countries. Around 600 Czech and German fans began fighting on Na Prikope Street in the centre of Prague before police intervened. Nobody was hurt in the incident. Earlier, police stopped nearly two hundred suspected hooligans at the border between the two countries. An estimated 3000 German fans travelled to the Czech capital to see the game.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/25/2007

    The match itself was won 2-1 by Germany. Two headed goals by Kevin Kuranyi either side of half time were enough to give the Germans all three points despite a late goal by Milan Baros. The result leaves the Czechs three points behind the Germans at the top of their qualifying group, level with Ireland but with a game in hand.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/25/2007

    Kenyan runner Patrick Ivuti won the ninth Prague half-marathon on Saturday with a course record of one hour and one minute. The women's race was won by Russian Lilya Shobukhova, who was a silver medallist in the 5000 m at last year's European Championships. Just under 6000 people participated in the race, the highest number in the event's history. Former Czech prime minister and current European Commissioner Vladimir Spidla also took part.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/24/2007

    At the same conference, former finance minister Bohuslav Sobotka will remain as vice-chairman of the Social Democrats after being re-elected at the party's conference in Brno. Unofficial reports say he received 84% support from the delegates, a much better showing than party leader Jiri Paroubek. Like Mr Paroubek, he was the only candidate for his post. He told Social Democrat members afterwards that he would have more time to devote to his party duties now that he wasn't a government minister. He also said he would never shy away from giving truthful opinions to Mr Paroubek.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/24/2007

    Social Democrat chairman Jiri Paroubek was re-elected as the party's leader at its annual conference in Brno on Friday evening. He received sixty percent of the delegates' votes, a total which was significantly less than the 92 percent support he received when first elected last May. Mr Paroubek was the only person standing for the post. Speaking at the conference, Mr Paroubek said the Social Democrats had to modernise in order to win the next election. He said that party needed to appeal more to younger and middle-aged people and also called for more women to be put on the party list of candidates, which he described as a sign of the party's modern thinking.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/24/2007

    The head of Vaclav Klaus's presidential office Jiri Weigl has conveyed the president's greetings to the Social Democrat conference in Brno. President Klaus - who is still honorary chairman of the right-wing Civic Democratic Party - said the Social Democrats were the oldest democratic party in the Czech Republic and their congress was a major event for the whole nation. He also added that even though they were now in opposition they still had a major role to play in ensuring the country's well being. Later, conference delegates passed a resolution calling on the Social Democrat deputies and senators not to vote for Mr Klaus in the next presidential elections, planned for next year. Party leader Jiri Paroubek described President Klaus as a populist and an ideological dogmatist.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/24/2007

    Prague's mayor Pavel Bem departed the Czech capital on Saturday morning for the Himalayas where he will attempt to climb Mount Everest. The mayor - who is a keen mountaineer - has taken two months' unpaid leave in order to try and climb the world's highest peak. He had earlier been heavily criticised in some quarters for taking so much time off from his duties as Prague mayor to do this.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/24/2007

    Czech and German police have arrested 126 suspected German football hooligans ahead of Saturday's international Euro 2008 qualifying match between the Czech Republic and Germany in Prague. 117 were stopped at the border between the two countries by German police while the remaining 9 were apprehended and sent home by the Czech authorities. Around 3000 German football fans are expected to travel to Prague for Saturday's match. Czech police also expect between 500 and 1000 hooligans to come to Prague for the sole purpose of causing trouble in the Czech capital. They have been given a list of these people by their German counterparts.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/24/2007

    Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has said that some institutional changes that aren't covered in the Nice Treaty need to be made in the EU by 2009 when the next European parliamentary elections will be held and the Czech Republic will hold the EU presidency. Mr Topolanek made his comments after meeting in Prague with Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who wants to resolve the issue of the European constitution as soon as possible. The two men also discussed the proposed construction of a US radar base in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, President Vaclav Klaus was in Berlin on Saturday to an EU summit, where the Declaration of Berlin will be ratified.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor
  • 03/24/2007

    Police have arrested a man in Prague suspected of stealing dozens of machine guns, grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The police found the weapons after a raid at the man's home on Saturday. It is thought the man stole them from a warehouse he owns after a disagreement with a tenant.

    Author: Coilin O'Connor

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